Static Hour Announced for PC

Do not adjust your PC or mobile device. This news bulletin is not in error. Barkbyte Interactive has provided us with a glimpse of its newest project, a newsroom thriller set in the 1980s. As someone sitting at my own proverbial news desk, I feel compelled to give you some details about what we know so far.

As previously mentioned, Barkbyte Interactive has announced Static Hour, a 1980s newsroom thriller where you are the lone news editor on the night shift. Eerie events and mysterious occurrences litter your time at the news desk, and it is up to you to find the truth. Here is what the press release says about Static Hour:

“If anyone is still out there, if anyone is listening, you should know that Barkbyte Interactive has revealed its upcoming narrative newsroom thriller Static Hour. Set in a small town in the 1980s, you are the lone newsroom editor working the night shift amidst a series of eerie events and must figure out what’s going on and what’s fit to broadcast.

An outbreak of violence has erupted. Families are turning on each other. People are panicking. The government has issued a lockdown, and they’re sending in the troops. What’s going on? The people must know.

It’s the 1980s, and your journalistic instincts are reliant upon period-appropriate analogue tech. Scroll through your rolodex, make calls on your rotary phone, listen to emergency alerts, and peruse the police scanner for any info you can find. Leave no stone unturned, even if that means rummaging through your colleagues’ desks to ensure you’re getting the full scoop. The truth is out there.

As the only news editor on duty, you alone must deduce what leads are worth dispatching field reporters to, who to call for more information, and what seems important enough to take up valuable air time. Of course, you must do your best to verify each story and make sure you’re following FCC regulations!

By deciding what information to broadcast, you alone influence how the public responds to this crisis, shaping events throughout the night. With the fate of the town on the line, it’s never been more important to ensure that your reporting is accurate. But only you can decide what the public is ready to hear. Every story you broadcast or leave unaired pushes the town closer to the truth or deeper into the static. The choice is yours alone.”

As an additional bulletin, Barkbyte Founder and creative director Claire Sarmiento provided a comment on the announcement, stating: “With Static Hour, I wanted to create a retro psychological thriller about isolation and misinformation, where you’re given staggering responsibility and must trust yourself in determining what is accurate.

I loved the idea of spooky things happening in a small town just out of sight, where the horrors are driven by audio and left to your imagination. Furthermore, I was captivated by the idea that something terrible is happening, but you can’t quite grasp exactly what it is. Having to sort through junk data, red herrings, and scattered facts to decipher truth from preemptive speculation seemed like a flavor of horror that remains as relevant today as ever.”

With this news report, I must admit that I am eager to discover what secrets lie in the story of Static Hour. Phenixx Gaming’s staff pride ourselves on offering accurate reporting, and thus a game like this could provide a test to our skills. Or it could just be something spooky to play before bed; only time will tell. Let us know what you think of Static Hour in the comments.